Texas Tech University Athletics
Jeff Nelson Chat Wrap
August 22, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 22, 2001
Jeff Nelson: Welcome Red Raiders and fans of women's volleyball! I am excited about having the opportunity to talk with you.
Justine (Lubbock): What are some things you enjoy most about coaching?
Jeff Nelson: Working with the athletes, working in the gym and getting to see their progress and their rewards for all their hard work. It is always exciting when a player accomplishes a new feat or steps it up to the next level. The time you get to spend with them, just getting to know them and learn about their lives and families is a lot of fun.
Gloria (Long Beach, CA): What is the process for recruiting young student athletes? How do you see the top players? Where do you see them? How do you approach them, and how do you get them?
Jeff Nelson: Many of the Div. 1 volleyball programs spend a lot of time at the junior tournaments seeing players from all over the country. We also receive quite a large amount of mail with students inquiring about our program. We try to respond to all of them. It is also important to know the area your school is in and have good contacts throughout the community.
Jeff Nelson: The process begins officially Sept. 1 of the students junior year in high school in most cases. This is when we can write letters to them on a regular basis.
RaiderRed: Coach, Can you give me your thoughts on the new scoring format?
Jeff Nelson: I think the new scoring format will be really good for the game as the fans and players become more accustomed to it.
Jeff Nelson: The format really brings the match times into check and you will no longer see the three hour marathon matches. We played nine of them last year. It will limit match length to a little over two hours. I think the rally score system forces teams to improve their serving and passing.
Jeff Nelson: I think we will see a lot more close games and hopefully keep our fans and the media more involved. This should also help our sport with television as matches will fit into a better time frame.
Cody: Jeff, as I look at the list of pre-season top 25 teams, I noticed that there are not a lot of women coaches with ranked teams. What do you think is the reason for this? Are there not a lot of women coaches?
Jeff Nelson: As you look through the Top 25, the number of teams coached by males and females is fairly close. The difference is in the coach's teams who are in the Top 10. A number of those coaches have been with their programs and coaching for many many years.
Jeff Nelson: There are many strong women coaches who as they are in the game longer are doing outstanding jobs with their programs. I think you see programs like Santa Barbara, Florida, Notre Dame, Utah, South Carolina and many more with great female coaches.
Cody: Coach Nelson, is the college game going to be using the libero this year?
Jeff Nelson: The college game will not be using the libero position this season. However, many of the coaches favor this rule change and I believe we will see it pass for next year's season.
Barbara: How would you compare the United Spirit Arena to other top facilities in the country?
What can be done to get women's volleyball more media coverage?
How will the new rally scoring help a team?
What impact will the new players have on your Texas Tech team this year?
Jeff Nelson: The United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University is clearly one of the best, if not THE BEST, volleyball facility in the nation. From the main arena to the practice gym to the lockerrooms to the weight room to the training room and offices, it is first-class all the way.
Jeff Nelson: Our team is always excited and proud to have the opportunity to play in the United Spirit Arena. We feel it is a great homecourt. I also feel it has really helped us with recruiting and the overall respect for our program in our community.
Peg (Scottsdale): Coach, first of all congruatlations on an outstanding record at Tech! What will you have your team concentrate on with the new scoring?
Jeff Nelson: First of all thank you for following us! Our team is significantly smaller in height this season so it will be extremely important for us to play great defense along with serving and passing very well. Practices so far have emphasized these aspects of our game and hopefully we can surprise some teams with strong efforts in those areas.
Maddie: Coach Nelson, I'm a high school coach and aspire to one day coach at the collegiate level. What would be your advice to me in regards to taking that next step and getting my foot in the door at a university?
Jeff Nelson: It certainly isn't an easy transition because there are so few universities therefore there aren't a lot of opportunities. However, I think if you are serious about moving to the next level you may have to make some good contacts in the college ranks and maybe even volunteer assist at a collegiate program to get your foot in the door. I wish you the best of luck and feel free to call if you want to speak to me further.
Jeff : Coach congrats on an outstanding record at tech ? how do you feel about being in the same program as bobby knight?
Jeff Nelson: Again, thanks for following the program. At this point, Coach Knight seems to be working very hard and doing a great job of getting more support for the university and the men's basketball program. He seems to be very supportive of women's athletics and all our programs here at Tech.
Brent, Newport Beach, CA: What's your stance on recruiting California kids? Do you like them? Is Lubbock a tough sell?
Jeff Nelson: While many areas of the country are hot beds for recruiting, California is still right at the top of the list. More of the West Coast athletes seem to be open to going different places around the country than in the past. California has not been a hot bed for us because we seem to have more success recruiting the Midwest and the North as well as Texas.
Jeff Nelson: Lubbock has a bad wrap but it is a wonderful college town with so much to offer our student-athletes. We have great support for women's athletics throughout the community and it is a big enough city that there is much to do.
Masked Rider: Can you tell me about the influx of foreign players?
Jeff Nelson: Every year there seems to be more and more players brought in from outside the country. I think it is a great opportunity for students to meet and play with someone from another country. However, I do wish there were limitations on the number of foreign players teams could have. It favors school's that have budgets allowing them leave the country to recruit.
Ross, Raiderland: As one of a handful of people who came to the volleyball games last year, what will the team do this year to promote attendance?
Jeff Nelson: There are many really good promotions planned for this season. Halftime and mid-game promotions along with special nights and some promotions by corporations should help the game atmosphere and promote attendance. The problem is that there are a number of good ideas for promotions but not enough dollars always to get the word out. Our team trys to stay very active in the community and works hard to promote themselves.
Fred: What are your pre season predictions for the Big 12?
Jeff Nelson: The Big 12 will be as strong as any conference in the country this year. Certainly, Nebraska is the favorite to win as they were nearly a unanimous No. 1 in the national polls. The polls also showed seven of our 11 Big 12 schools that play volleyball receiving votes.
Jeff Nelson: After Nebraska, there are six or seven teams that will compete strongly for positions and potential NCAA births. I believe there will many exciting nail-biters this year for the fans.
Bill: Hey Coach, sounds like you got a very solid recruiting class this year. do you see any of these youngsters making an impact this season?
Jeff Nelson: I am very pleased with this year's freshmen. They showed up for two-a-days in great shape and ready to compete for positions. Samantha Harvey has done an outstanding job thus far in the middle and is very much in the mix. Jessy Herrera has done a great job of raising the level of practice with outstanding ball control and great defense and will see much time during her freshman campaign.
Jeff Nelson: Kelly Johnson, who is a redshirt freshman, has really worked hard and will see much action on the left side. Daneen Grisham adds depth to the right side backcourt. Ashley Dickerson has been sidelined with a wrist injury and will probably have to redshirt this year.
Ray Hangey (Minnesota): Congratulations to you and to Colleen Smith who was an All-American last year. Do you have any players on your roster that could be All-American contenders this year?
Jeff Nelson: Thanks for your kind words. I think Melissa McGehee has the potential to put up some big numbers this year after her All-Big 12, All-Region campaign last year. Yolanda Cumbess also has the potential to put up some big numbers and is an incredible athlete. Skydra Orzen is doing an awesome job running the offense and is just a really good volleyball player. Finally, Heather Hughes-Justice has the potential to be one of the Big 12's finest again as well.
Janelle, Cleburne, TX: Explain, in your mind, the pros and cons of women's volleyball versus men's volleyball. Thanks!
Jeff Nelson: The games are very different. The men's game is much more of a power and size game while the women's game still has a lot of finesse and rallies that I think tend to make it a little bit more exciting. The women's game still has a place for the small players who are great athletes.
Ann Grote (Austin): Has the Oklahoma State plane tragedy affected the way that Texas Tech athletics plans team trips? If so, how?
Jeff Nelson: Our hearts still go out to the people at Oklahoma State and their families. The tragedy has probably caused all schools to at least re-evaluate their means of transportation for away games. For us, it has meant really rethinking some of our trips and using charters only when absolutely necessary. This being when we would miss too much school by going commercial.
Blake, Lubbock: Coach, I enjoyed watching Angela Mooney play her high school ball here in Lubbock. I haven't heard anything about her this year ... is she still around.
Jeff Nelson: Angela was a great high school and club player in the Lubbock area and was a very widely recruited athlete. Angela had a good freshmen year and an outstanding spring last year. Unfortunately, she had to have shoulder surgery in May and is just now getting ready to go again. We really think highly of her talent and are greatly anticipating her return.
Helen Newcomb (Pflugerville): How to anticipate to fare this year with a tough conference, with strong teams like Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas? How does Texas look this year with their new coach?
Jeff Nelson: We anticipate another strong season and feel ready to compete with anyone in the conference or nationally. I think the conference will be very similar to last year in terms of who the good teams are.
pam: how does the budget for the volleyball team compare to the basketball team? Who gets better perks?
Jeff Nelson: Certainly, our budgets are very different. The women's basketball team at Texas Tech fills the arena averaging over 12,000 fans per game. They work very hard and deserve all they get. We don't like to compare budgets across sports as much as who we are competing against. While we do have a smaller budget than basketball, we have many wonderful perks--the biggest being the United Spirit Arena.
Maddie: Coach, how did you get your start coaching volleyball?
Jeff Nelson: I was fortunate enough to find a place to play as a seventh grader. I found volleyball at the local YMCA in my hometown of Austin, Minnesota. The love I have for the game developed almost immediately and I was playing three and four nights a week as a junior high student. I also had the great fortune of playing in one of the best collegiate men's programs (Ball State). During my time at Ball State, I got to be an assistant for Steve Shondell who is one of the best technicians in the game. His high school teams are always ranked among the Top 10 in the nation. Because of this, I was able to jump in to Div. 1 volleyball immediately at the Univ. of Nebraska as a graduate assistant and have been involved ever since.
Moderator: Well, guys it is time for Coach to leave us. We hope you had a great time chatting with Coach. On behalf of ESPN and the FANSonly Network, we wish him the very best of luck this season.
Jeff Nelson: I want to thank everyone who submitted questions and joined in and I look forward to seeing many of you at the games this year.
Jeff Nelson: I believe, it will be an exciting year for college volleyball and the fans. Thanks and Go Tech!!!
